United Community Bank Sells 2,604 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

United Community Bank reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,199 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,604 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants makes up 1.2% of United Community Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. United Community Bank's holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $207,000. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $395,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.8% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,105 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,257 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total transaction of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 147 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total transaction of $1,284,431.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,714 shares of company stock valued at $9,609,494 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Monday, hitting $209.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,173,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,382,971. The stock's 50-day moving average is $213.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.21 and a 52 week high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.65 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on DRI. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Darden Restaurants from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.